


The Steel Nightmare

by GretchenSinister



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Fluff, M/M, Theme Park AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:47:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23033449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GretchenSinister/pseuds/GretchenSinister
Summary: All I want to do is check on the ongoing fill for one of my prompts but I caaan’t because it’s family vacation time.So I will sit here with my sunburn, thinking up silly theme park AUs.(Sandy works at a face painting kiosk, Pitch is a really enthusiastic summer exchange worker from England who operates the new Nightmare roller coaster, Jack sells frozen lemonade, Bunny runs some midway game (hope, ya know?), Tooth is one of those people who asks to take your picture when you walk in, and North I guess owns the place.)
Relationships: Pitch Black/Sanderson Mansnoozie
Kudos: 5
Collections: Blacksand Short Fics





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr on 5/21/2013.

“I brought you frozen lemonade.”

Sandy rubs his face and looks up as he hears the British accent that’s become so familiar to him over the course of the past few weeks. Is it break time already? He smiles gratefully and takes the lemonade from Pitch’s hands. It’s only May, but it feels like it’s nearing a hundred degrees today.

“I’ll pay you back, I promise.” He sighs in unabashed pleasure at the first blessedly cool, sweet, tangy spoonful.

“You don’t need to. Jack didn’t charge me anything. Who knows why.”

Sandy laughs around the ice. “He wants your body, Mr. Oblivious.”

“You know he’s barking up the wrong tree.”

“And you know your visa doesn’t allow you to stay past the summer.” Sandy rolls his eyes.

Pitch sighs. “It’s too hot to have this conversation again. I still think I could overrule your objections.”

“But that’s because I’m a man of many weaknesses.”

“And I want to be one of them.”

Sandy grins, holding out a spoonful of frozen lemonade to Pitch, who leans down to take the mouthful of sweet ice while leaving the spoon in Sandy’s hand. He makes sure to lick the spoon clean, doing so in a way that makes Sandy raise his eyebrows.

“So…anyone cry on the Nightmare today?”

Pitch nods, smiling fondly. “A few. I even saw one girl ruining one of your face paintings.”

Sandy scowls, but his voice is playful. “You’re horrible! You know I work hard on everything I do.”

“I’m still waiting for you to ride, though.”

“I’m scared of those big coasters–I told you.”

“We’ll go together–before the park opens. I know you’ll like it.”

“I don’t even know if I’m tall enough for the Nightmare.”

“You are.” Pitch winks. “And if not, I know a different ride that you’re definitely the right height for.”

Sandy smirks at him. “We’ll see how I feel in the morning. Six foot three or four hundred twenty feet, _such_ a difficult decision–now get out of here, they need you to freak out the riders.”

Pitch’s smile is wicked as he waves and walks away, and Sandy thinks he’s going to need a whole lot more frozen lemonade to cool down.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roller Coaster Ride!
> 
> My vacation continues and so does the theme park AU. (Hahaha it wouldn’t leave my head)
> 
> Pitch and Sandy ride the Nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr on 5/22/2013.

Thick gray clouds loom heavy in the sky the next morning, almost seeming to touch the top of the Nightmare’s four hundred and twenty-foot high first hill. Sandy looks up at the coaster from the employee’s parking lot and gulps. It looks like doom. Doom and death in black steel calligraphy. But at least it didn’t look like heartbreak.

Pitch is waiting for him at the beginning of the line, where an archway made up of screaming, black, armored horses frozen in mid gallop welcome the brave and foolish into a maze of stainless steel switchbacks at a rate of 1500 per hour on busy days. One of the fiberglass horses looks like it’s going to bite the shoulder of whoever sits in the sample seat.

“So what did you decide on?” Pitch asks, grinning.

“Th-the coaster.”

Pitch only grins wider, and Sandy’s eyes slip behind him to the warning sign. “<5> INTENSE THRILL RIDE Do not ride if you have any of the following conditions…” He looks up at Pitch, who grabs his hand and tries to pull him into the line.

“Wait! What if…what if I have a heart condition?”

“Have you been diagnosed with one?”

“No, but my heart is pounding pretty badly right now.”

“Oh, that’s normal! And flattering.” He traces his thumb across the inside of Sandy’s wrist. “Do you want me to check your pulse?”

“You’d probably decide to use the inner thigh as the pulse point,” Sandy mutters. Pitch only laughs and pulls him forward again.

“Come on! We don’t have that much time. The sprinters are already lining up at the gate.”

They bypass the maze and go straight to the loading platform. Waiting there, like a line of plastic explosives, is the train. Its deep violet paint has been infused with black and silver glitter. It would be pretty, Sandy thinks, if it wasn’t going to carry him to his death.

One of the other Nightmare operators waves at them from the control room, as do the two restraint checkers. “Hi Pitch! This is Sandy?”

“Yes—is everything still good to go? He’s decided no other ride will do.” Sandy elbows Pitch in the side.

“Sure.” The young woman snaps her gum. “We did all the sandbag runs, so it’s ready for riders as is.”

“Wait a second,” says Sandy. “What about the weather? It looks like it’s going to storm at any second. And that—that—thing out there is nothing but a giant lightning rod! If we go out there, we’re going to get struck by lightning and die.” He can hear his voice getting higher and curses himself for it. But this is a legitimate concern, right? Right?

“Nah,” Chrissy replies. “We’ve got until 11 am before the severe weather gets here. Thank God, anyway, I could use a nice long break in the middle of the day. And maybe it’ll cool down finally.”

“See, Sandy? Nothing to worry about.” Pitch swings his arm around his shoulders. “And it will be fun. When was the last time you went on a roller coaster anyway?”

“Um, does the Iron Dragon at Cedar Point count?”

“I don’t think I’ve heard of that one,” Pitch says.

“Nope.” Chrissy pops her gum again.

“Fine. Then never.”

“Oh, this is going to be great!” Pitch removes his arm from Sandy’s shoulders and actually claps his hands with glee. “Front row this way, Sanderson! And don’t worry, we’ll turn you into an adrenaline junkie yet.”

“You. Are. A. Sadist.” Sandy hisses at Pitch as Chrissy makes what he feels is an entirely too-cursory examination of the high-tech lap bar now restraining him and Pitch in the first car of the train. The only thing between them and the rest of the track now is a giant horse’s head serving as a figurehead for the train. Unmercifully, in Sandy’s opinion, it doesn’t obstruct the view at all.

Pitch only replies with his ride patter. “Welcome, rider, to your very worst nightmare. Today we are going to lift you up four hundred twenty feet into the air, drop you down four hundred ten feet—but who’s counting? You sure won’t have time as you fly by everyone who stayed safe and sound on the ground at a maximum speed of 110 miles per hour. And when I say fly I do mean fly! We are going to tip you over through a maximum vertical angle of 92 degrees, and let me just say, that is NOT a right angle, no, no, it is in fact a very WRONG angle. But that’s not all, folks! Let’s just say there are a few places where we’ll get to explore a few more fundamental fears, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise for first-timers. Just keep in mind, there’s a lot that can happen on these two miles of track in our three minutes of ride time.” He glances up at the operator, who gives him a thumbs up. “And now, here! We! Go!” His voice suddenly drops. “I’d say sweet dreams, but there aren’t any left.”

“Oh fuck,” Sandy whispers.

“Clear!” Call the restraint checkers.

“Clear!” Calls the operator.

The train doesn’t even jolt with the first pull, but instead slides up the first hill with silky smoothness. Sandy’s impressed by that for a moment, but soon admiration gives way to terror as they slowly move up…and up…and up…and up.

“Are you going to put your hands up?” Pitch asks.

“Hell no! And…neither are you!” Sandy reaches out to grab Pitch’s right hand with his left.

“Okay,” Pitch says, leaning back in his seat and giving Sandy’s hand a squeeze, though Sandy is already holding on so tightly as to make this moment almost painful.

In the first car, the fall begins slowly, and Sandy feels like he can see every detail of the ground they’re going to crash into—where’s the track?!—as the train curves over the inversion angle. His eyes widen, his mouth falls open, he takes a deep breath, and they are falling, falling, faster, faster! He can’t even scream, feeling weightless, feeling like Pitch’s hand is the only thing keeping him from flying off into space.

Pitch, on the other hand, screams joyfully as they hurtle down the track, his one free hand high in the air.

Then the first fall is over, and they are shooting up another hill. The descent curves this time, heading into a wide overbanked turn and then! Total darkness! Sandy gasps when they emerge from the tunnel. They appear to be heading into a knot of steel track—they are in the knot of steel track. For a long, long, series of moments they careen around a bewildering amount of interlocking curves and hills. Sandy is sure they are going to crash, and he tries desperately to get Pitch to put his hand down, to _duck for God’s sake we’re going to hit that support beam we’re going to die_. But he doesn’t die, and the track straightens out again, and some mechanism launches them up another large hill. And there is curve after curve and hill after hill and more tunnels _TOO NARROW AHHHH_ and then one more comes up and in the pitch darkness he sees a flash of light and feels something wet on his face and this is the rain starting and they’ve just been struck by lightning this is it this is the end! But Pitch is laughing and soon they are slowing to a stop.

Breathless, Sandy doesn’t let go of Pitch’s hand, even as they roll into the station.

“Welcome back riders!” Pitch’s patter doesn’t sound so practiced after the ride. “I see you’ve survived! How was your ride?” He whoops, then goes back into his operator persona. “Oh really? Well I’m glad you enjoyed it—after all, you will have to go to sleep again sometime. Thank you for riding the Nightmare and enjoy the rest of your day at Wonderland, where we shoot for the moon!”

The lap bars release, and Pitch climbs out of the train, pulling Sandy out after him. “So. How was it? Did you like it?”

Sandy stares at him, holding up his free hand so Pitch can see it. It’s shaking. He goes to hug Pitch, to steady himself. “That was,” he begins after a long moment, finally regaining his voice, “the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done in my life. You suck. But…okay. Now that I survived…I actually feel pretty good right now.”

“Would you do it again?”

“Not right away! Geez, Pitch, let me catch my breath.”

Pitch laughs. “I didn’t mean right away! The park’s opening. But if right away was the first thing you thought of—I think you might have liked it better than you think.”

Sandy gives him a small smile, stepping back slightly. “I thought we actually got struck by lightning, there at the end.”

“Oh! That reminds me! The pictures!”

“Pictures?”

* * *

“Oh, I like that. I’m buying it.” Pitch says.

In the picture, Sandy’s face is fixed in an expression of pure terror, while Pitch kisses him on the cheek.

Sandy has to admit he likes the picture as well—and that may be far more dangerous than any lightning strike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments from Tumblr:
> 
> xxdaimonxx said: aw mah god this is the cutest I just cant
> 
> bowlingforgerbils said: aaaahhh that was unbelievable. it was like i was right there on the coaster (although i would have been motion sick rather than scared). please write as much in this AU as you want!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inclement Weather
> 
> Last day of my vacation, last day of the visit to the themepark. 
> 
> It rains, forcing a lot of free time on the employees. Pitch doesn’t plan to spend this time playing cards in the break room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr on 5/23/2013.

At 11:14 am, all the rides at Wonderland are shut down due to increasingly heavy rain and lightning strikes sighted nearby. Sandy watches visitors stream slowly out of the park, feeling disappointed with them over their ruined days. Most of them get to go home though, or at least back to their hotels. Closing his containers of facepaint, Sandy sighs. The rain is falling steadily, and might continue like this for hours. He’ll have to stay here the whole time, not just get his hand stamped and go do something else until the sky clears. Did he remember his book today? Probably not. He talks to Pitch so often on breaks now that reading is usually the last thing on his mind as he prepares for work.

As he wheels his kiosk under the awning of a restaurant, he sees Pitch dash around the corner, splashing through puddles and soaking the hems of his uniform khakis as he does so. Spotting Sandy, he runs over to the shelter. Sandy quickly looks him up and down. He still thinks that anything happening between them would be a terrible idea, but that doesn’t mean he can’t appreciate the pink flush in Pitch’s normally pale cheeks or the way the rain has melted his normally tightly controlled black hair into inky curlicues on his forehead and under his ears. Little drops of water slowly run down his face, their paths changing as he smiles at Sandy. He casually catches one near his mouth with his tongue and thunder crashes.

“The weather radar says it’s not going to clear up until at least two,” Pitch says, panting from his run.

“I take it you’re not going to suggest we go play euchre in the break room until then.”

“I’m never going to understand that game. Anyway, I have a better idea. Don’t look so worried. I wouldn’t dream of making you walk all the way to the exchange program housing in this weather. Just—come on. Let’s go out in the rain.”

They step into the plaza, the last few departing guests holding their hoods or umbrellas close to their faces as they hurry toward the exit. The rain comes down in curtains, hiding everything more than a few feet away in a shimmering gray haze. It’s warm, too, and Sandy holds out his hands to let the drops pour over his palms.

“This better not turn into some clichéd thing about having to dry out our clothes,” Sandy says.

“No, my mind was on an entirely different cliché.” Pitch reaches out and grasps Sandy’s hands and pulls him closer. Lightning flashes purple across the sky and Pitch bends down to press a kiss onto Sandy’s lips. At first all Sandy can taste is rainwater, and he licks across Pitch’s bottom lip, looking for whatever is uniquely Pitch. Pitch hums with the rumble of thunder and teasingly presses his tongue against Sandy’s soft lips. Sandy opens his mouth, letting Pitch and more rainwater in as Pitch wraps his long arms around Sandy’s shoulders.

He doesn’t let go when they both break the kiss to breathe. “I’m a sucker for kissing in the rain, you see.”

“I think I’m a sucker for kissing in general,” Sandy says ruefully.

“Good.” Pitch smiles. “Hey—can that face paint of yours cover bruises?”

“I think so. Why?”

“Don’t play dumb,” Pitch murmurs, kissing the corner of Sandy’s mouth, across his cheek, and down his neck, where he begins to lick, and bite, and suck at the tender skin there. “Because scarves aren’t regulation.”

Sandy lets out a breathy laugh. “All right Pitch. But—we’ve got to see if the paint works for your skin tone too.”

“Of course,” Pitch says, his lips skimming Sandy’s skin, as the thunder crashes once again. “Though you know you’re going to be covering some of your best work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments from Tumblr:
> 
> bowlingforgerbils said: There is nothing like waking up to some blacksand on my dash. Thank you. <3

**Author's Note:**

> Tags and Comments from Tumblr:
> 
> #what is my life
> 
> xxdaimonxx said: aw mah god!! this is the most adorable thing ever!!!
> 
> bowlingforgerbils said: Precious babies. I love the way you write them.
> 
> random-sedan reblogged this from gretchensinister and added:  
> This is so damn cute, omg.


End file.
